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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27804607">my name on your wrist, my heart in your hands</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/moxie_girl/pseuds/moxie_girl'>moxie_girl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canonical Character Death, Excessive use of italics, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Tagging, Minor Aang/Katara, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Past Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Past Sokka/Yue (Avatar), Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Vaguely Follows Canon, no beta we die like lu ten</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:20:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,176</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27804607</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/moxie_girl/pseuds/moxie_girl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sokka loved his soulmate. Somewhere out there, was a person who was his other half, his perfect match, destined to love him.</p><p>Zuko loved his soulmate. He loved the reassurance that someone out there in the world loved him, even when Father looked down on him, disapprovingly.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>190</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue (I)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Age 6</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka loved his soulmate. Somewhere out there, was a person who was his other half, his perfect match, destined to love him! He always sent them good feelings, even when they were sad, and they sent good feelings back. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t read the script his soulmate’s name was in, red and sharp and jagged. Dad said it meant he would meet them if he went to travel the world! Sokka always wanted to see what was past the frozen wastes of the south pole. It didn’t matter that he had to cover his marks with a leather band to stop others from seeing it. Mom said that was what everyone did before they met their soulmate. She said he’d know them when he saw them. Sokka couldn’t wait to meet his soulmate!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko loved his soulmate. He loved the reassurance that someone out there in the world loved him, even when Father looked down on him, disapprovingly. When he was sad, his soulmate sent him good feelings, and it always cheered him up. It didn’t matter to him that his soulmate’s name was in a swirling blue script he couldn’t read, no matter what Father said. He would love his soulmate, even if they were not Fire Nation because that’s what soulmates were for. It didn’t matter that Father said royalty never ended up with their soulmates and that it would be better if he were to marry a nobleman’s daughter. Mother said that destiny had big plans for him, and that was enough. Zuko couldn’t wait to meet his soulmate!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Age 8</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka was worried about his soulmate. The sad feelings came more and more often now, and even thoughts of warm fires and fresh seal jerky couldn’t cheer them up. Pain started to come through the bond now, more than the scraped knees and bruised elbows than before. He felt burns on his arms now, often, and he worried. Was his soulmate getting too close to a fire? Sokka still had the small burn on his finger from when he got too close to the fire pit where Mom was cooking dinner. Then, one day, a searing pain started from his soulmate’s name, burning and aching like the end of the world. He collapsed, and when he came to, Mom and Gran-Gran were applying salve to his wrist. He had heard the stories of those who lost their soulmate, of the terrible pain they endured. He had seen the marks, black as ash, where the name of their beloved used to be. Cautiously, he looked at his soul mark. It was still there. He sent relief and concern through the bond to his soulmate, hoping they were ok.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko felt bad for his soulmate. They had to deal with his bad moods all the time. He was surprised when they still tried to cheer him up. Father said his soulmate was unlucky to have to deal with someone as weak as him. He hoped that wasn’t true, but every time he felt the spike of concern from his soulmate after making a mistake in bending practice, he was reminded him someone else was paying for his mistakes too. One day, after failing to impress Grandfather with his skills, Father said he needed to learn a lesson. He took Zuko’s wrist in his hand and started to apply heat. Zuko screamed. He had never felt anything as intense as that pain before. It was worse than any other burn he had ever suffered. After it was over, Father sent Zuko to his room, crying, as Mother tended to the burn. He felt a sudden burst of concern through his soul bond, mixed with… relief? Zuko started, realizing the wrist his father burned was the one with his soulmate’s name on it. Panicking, he checked his mark. It was fine, thank Agni. Relieved, he sent comfort through his bond, hoping his soulmate got the message.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Age 10</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka hated his soulmate. Mom was gone, lost in a fire nation raid. He saw Dad collapse on the snow, clutching his wrist before they even reached the hut. She was gone. Afterward, Gran-Gran took him aside and told him the truth. His soulmate was fire nation. Suddenly, he felt nothing but hatred towards the jagged red lines on his wrist, as sharp and cruel as the person it likely belonged to. His soulmate sent concern, questioning why he felt this way so suddenly, but Sokka blocked them off. His soulmate was Fire Nation, they knew what they did. He knew now why Mom wanted him to cover up his marks. If word got out, people would question his loyalty to the tribe. So he concentrated hard and blocked them out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko wanted to know what he did to his soulmate. One day, without explanation, the kindness and warmth morphed into hatred and anger. He sent questioning through the bond but got nothing in response. It was as if his soulmate had blocked all emotions off. Zuko decided to see what the library said about soulmates. Along the way, he spotted a book on Water Tribe language, and seeing the familiar swirling script, pulled it out. Flipping through the book, he discovered his soulmate’s name was ‘Sokka’. A pretty name, but undeniably a boy’s name. Father despised that sort of thing, but Zuko decided that he didn’t mind. He tried to send his excitement at the discovery to Sokka but remembered he was blocking him off. Saddened, he sent one last burst of emotion through the bond before giving up.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please drop a comment! Criticisms welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Prologue (II)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Age 11</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Sokka didn’t know how to feel about his soulmate anymore. He knew he should hate them, they were Fire Nation for La’s sake. But Sokka never felt anything particularly evil from his soulmate. Rare bursts of anger or hatred, but usually, they seemed happy. He slowly re-opened his connection, never sending anything big through, but still, he felt his soulmate there. Then one day, a massive surge of sadness and grief welled up inside him. Sokka nearly fell to his knees, unable to stop the tears seeping out of his eyes. He realized the feeling, the feeling of losing a loved one. But this was even worse. How many people had his soulmate lost? He tried to send comfort, but it barely did anything. His soulmate recovered eventually, but they never seemed as happy as they did before. Sokka started sending his feelings through again.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko was grateful for his soulmate. A few months after blocking him out, Sokka started to re-open their connection. Zuko was ecstatic. He sent his excitement through and although he got no specific response, he imagined he could feel Sokka’s happiness on the other end. Everything was perfect until it wasn't. Cousin Lu Ten was dead, Uncle left the palace, Mother was gone, Grandfather was dead, Father was Fire Lord, and Azula hated him more than ever. Zuko’s whole world had been turned upside down. It was the worst at night, alone in his room, as he cried himself to sleep. Sokka provided a small comfort, and for that, Zuko was grateful. It got better, but things were never the same. Zuko had nobody left except Sokka.</p><p> </p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Age 13</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Sokka is sure his soulmate is dead. He hadn't felt them since the horrible, horrible day a few months ago. His mark had never turned black, but really, was there any other explanation for what had happened? His soul bond had been overwhelmed by searing, burning pain, and then, nothing. Perhaps it was a mistake. He was sure soon the spirits would realize their mistake and fix his mark. Still, there was a little bit of him that clung to the hope that maybe his soulmate was alive somewhere. Every day when he woke up and the marks were still red, an indescribable relief washed over him. Relief at seeing the words inscribed in Fire Nation red. His stomach churned at the irony. But every passing day, when he still felt no emotions from his soulmate, he lost a little bit of that hope. There was no way his soulmate was alive.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko blocked away his soulmate. After the Agni Kai, after his banishment, he knew there was no way Sokka would ever want him. His scar marred his face and made him unlovable. Nobody had specifically told him so, but he could tell in the way his uncle and crew's eyes lingered on it anytime they saw it. So he blocked out his soulmate. He had done research on how to do it, the first time Sokka did it to him. The pain and sadness he felt from Sokka when he checked the bond after a few weeks of blocking almost made him stop, but he figured it couldn't be because of him. Zuko was no longer a naïve little kid. He knew that the Water Tribe was on the opposite side of the war to the Fire Nation. He knew what his nation did to them. There was no way his soulmate would ever love him.</p><p> </p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Age 15</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Sokka has forgotten about his soulmate. Well, not really, but he pushed them to the back of his mind. He had long since given up any hope that they might be alive. It was just a cruel joke the spirits were playing on him. Sokka had more important things to do, like running the tribe. Anyways, if his soulmate was dead, nobody would question his loyalty to the tribe. He was sure that he and his soulmate wouldn't have gotten a happy ending anyway. They were on opposite sides of a war, and the Fire Nation was cruel and relentless. Sokka told himself he wouldn't have been able to love someone from the Fire Nation. You were soulmates, whispered a little voice in his head; you would have loved them if you had met them. He pushed the little voice away. Sokka didn't have time for soulmates.</p><p> </p><p>Zuko had tried to forget about his soulmate. He didn't think about Sokka anymore, about the could-haves and the maybes. Blocking the link came almost second nature to him by now. He was sure he would have to concentrate to unblock it. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, he wondered how Sokka was doing, if Sokka thought he was dead, whether Sokka ever thought of him. He tried to shove these thoughts away, lock them up in a box with the dreams of a fairytale ending that could never be. Sokka could never love him. Zuko was Fire Nation, an enemy of the Water Tribe, and he was a disgrace. Nobody could ever love him, and he was lucky to be born at all. That's what Father always said. Everyone who loved him had left. He had a mission to focus on, anyway. Zuko didn't have time for soulmates.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please drop a comment! Criticisms welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Sokka (I)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sokka wished the universe would stop reminding him about soulmates. He wanted to just forget about his, but it was so hard. When he and his sister found the Avatar in an iceberg (he couldn’t really believe it either) he thought they could go off on an adventure that would keep his mind busy. But lo and behold, guess who his sister’s soulmate was? The freaking Avatar. He had always found some solace in the fact that he wasn’t the only one with a soulmate from a different nation. But Katara was different. Her soulmark represented hope, proving that the Air Nomads were not all dead, whereas his was nothing but a constant source of shame. He watched from afar as Aang taught Katara what the different parts of his name were, tracing his fingers across the silver swirls on her wrist. Sokka wished he could have something like that someday.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they went to the island of Kyoshi, Sokka wished that soulmates didn’t exist. The leader of the Kyoshi Warriors was a beautiful girl named Suki. Sokka had never before wished as much as he did then that he had a different name on his wrist. But Suki already found her soulmate, another girl in the warriors. She was happy, and Sokka would never ruin that for her. They parted ways with a hug and a smile, and as they rode away on Appa, Sokka thought that in another world, it could have been.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the Northern Water Tribe, Sokka thought maybe he could cheat his destiny. The princess, Yue, was one of the most gorgeous people he had ever seen. She glowed like an ethereal goddess. She also had no soulmate. Sokka thought maybe they could be together, the girl with no soulmate and the boy with one who was likely dead. He mentioned it to her one night on an ice bridge as they watched the stars.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you feel about soulmates?” He posed the question tentatively, unsure of how she would react. Yue looked at him in surprise before responding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think they’re amazing. I only wish I had one.” She responded, melancholy. Sokka looked at her in surprise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. Because I was not expected to live past a baby, the spirits did not gift me a soulmate” She fidgeted, tugging at her sleeves. There was something she wasn’t telling him, but he did not press. Sokka sighed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I get it.” Yue looked at him in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You… do not have one either?” Sokka shook his head, pulling off his wristband. Yue gasped at the traitorous red color of the name, but Sokka barreled on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s kinda complicated. I lost contact with them a few years back. I think they’re dead, but my mark never turned black. They could be blocking me out, I know, but it’s been nearly three years of nothing, and I’m starting to lose hope. Anyway, they were Fire Nation, so it wouldn’t have worked out anyway.” He stopped, out of breath from spilling so much at once. Yue looked at him with a soft smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think it will all work out in the end,” Sokka moved to interrupt, but she kept going. “The spirits do not make mistakes, Sokka.” He smiled bitterly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They did this time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The delicate peace did not last. The Fire Nation invaded. The moon spirit was dead, and so was Yue. As she placed a kiss on his forehead and reminded him she would always be with him, he realized why she was lying the other night. She didn’t have a soulmate, not because she was not expected to live as an infant, but because her destiny always lay with the moon. As they flew away from the Northern Water Tribe, moon high in the sky, Sokka looked up and thought maybe, for Yue, he could believe.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please drop a comment! Criticisms welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Zuko (I)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Zuko couldn’t believe his luck. He had finally found the Avatar, finally had a chance at going home. For a few minutes at the South Pole, everything seemed like it would be okay. But then, the Avatar’s friends showed up on a giant flying… bison? And so began an infuriating game of cat and mouse. Zuko would get close to capturing the Avatar, then the Water Tribe peasants would show up to get him out. Again and again and again. The one thing he couldn't understand was why the Avatar seemed like a young boy. He knew the Avatar was known to be a master of disguise, so maybe it was just a trick to gain sympathy? But he really acted like a 12-year-old. How was that possible? Not that the Avatar's friends were much older. There was the waterbender, an annoying thorn in his side who seemed to get better every time they ran into each other. Then, there was her brother, the other Water Tribe boy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko didn’t know how to feel about him. The boy was annoying, and obviously his enemy. He taunted Zuko during fights, calling him names (Prince Jerkbender? Really?) and making jokes that not even the people on his side laughed at. He also fought with some unconventional weapons. He used a bone club often, especially in close combat. He also favored a boomerang, which Zuko would have made fun of if their first interaction didn’t include him getting hit in the back of the head with said boomerang. He was fascinating to watch during fights, moving with a sort of fluid grace that was so different from the sharp strikes of a firebender. Zuko had gotten a little caught up watching him a few times. Okay, so, maybe Zuko had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bit</span>
  </em>
  <span> of a crush on him. It wasn’t his fault the boy’s eyes were the brightest shade of blue he had ever seen! But he was the enemy, so Zuko pushed any feelings he had down deep inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then everything came crashing down on him. They were at the temple for Avatar Roku. He was captured. Then suddenly, the doors to the inner sanctum burst open, and when the smoke cleared, who was standing there but Roku himself. Zuko stared in shock as the temple started collapsing around him. Shaking himself out of his daze, he started to run when-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka!” Zuko started at the familiar name. Who had said that? Then he noticed the waterbender girl, beckoning to her brother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m coming!” The boy shouted back, and that was when it clicked. The boy’s name was Sokka. The infuriating water tribe warrior who he may have had the slightest crush on was his </span>
  <em>
    <span>soulmate</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Oh no. But then Zuko was distracted by a piece of the ceiling falling a little too close. He ran. When he was back in his room on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wani</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he allowed himself to dwell on it again. There was a possibility, he considered, that the boy was not </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sokka. Maybe it was a common name? But the crush-could-be-more feeling he felt when he looked at him told Zuko that yes, that was his soulmate, and yes, the spirits hated him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko was angry. He couldn’t believe his soulmate was that </span>
  <em>
    <span>infuriating</span>
  </em>
  <span> water tribe peasant. He couldn’t believe the spirits stuck him with a soulmate who hated him, who was on the opposite side of a war from him, who would </span>
  <b>never love him</b>
  <span>. Furious, he whirled through training exercises on the deck. Kick, punch, dodge, blast, repeat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Prince Zuko, are you okay?” A voice from behind him startled him, and he whirled around, on the verge of blasting whoever it was with a face full of flames when he realized it was just his uncle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, uncle.” He gritted his teeth and went back to training. Zuko knew that wouldn’t stop him from prying, though. Uncle was far too perceptive for that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are not fine, Prince Zuko. You have been distant since we returned from the temple. What is wrong?” There it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I,” kick, “told,” punch, “you,” dodge, “I’m,” blast, “fine!” He turned to Uncle with fire in his eyes, daring him to push further. Uncle backed off, going belowdecks, likely to play Pai Sho or gossip with the crewmates. Zuko sighed, anger exhausted, and walked to the rail. As he stared down into the dark water, he remembered the thing Father always said. Soulmates make you weak. So Zuko shoved thoughts of Sokka and his infuriatingly cocky grin into the back of his mind and pretended to be strong.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please drop a comment! Criticisms welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Sokka (II)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for taking so long to post! I'm not sure I'll be able to continue posting daily.</p><p>Also, sorry in advance for my excessive use of italics and ellipsis (ellipsises?)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sokka was having the worst week of his </span>
  <em>
    <span>life</span>
  </em>
  <span>. First, there was the incident with the traveling singers. They would </span>
  <em>
    <span>not stop</span>
  </em>
  <span> singing about love! After what happened with Yue, and his absent soulmate still on his mind, the last thing he needed was a group of musicians singing about the tragic story of two soulmates on opposite sides of a war. It struck a chord a little too close to home. After that fiasco, he stayed up for a few nights, unable to sleep as he traced his soulmark. He just hoped they weren't destined for an ending like Oma and Shu. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then, because the universe </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sokka, they got sucked into a freaky swamp by a magic tornado. Sometimes he wished he had never joined Aang. The creepy plants and screaming birds weren’t even the worst part. Sokka had gotten separated from the rest of the group when he saw it. A flash of red out of the corner of his eye. Sokka turned and spotted… a child. The boy couldn’t have been older than ten, with hair pulled up in a ponytail and clothes that were unmistakably Fire Nation. One of his hands held a scroll, and he held the other up against the scroll, staring intently at his wrist. He was looking at his soulmark, Sokka realized, but before he could say anything, the boy shouted in excitement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka! That’s it!” Sokka started to say something to this strange child who knew his name, but before he could, the boy turned and met his eyes. “My soulmate’s name is Sokka.” The strange boy said, and vanished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Later, Sokka would learn that the swamp gave you visions of the past, which meant that that must have been what his soulmate was like when he was younger. Sokka knew he was attracted to boys, Katara wasn’t the only one who had had a slight crush on Jet (before he revealed his </span>
  <em>
    <span>true</span>
  </em>
  <span> colors), but he always assumed his soulmate would be… huh. The very idea of finally having a face, sort of, to match to his soulmate unsettled him, but that wasn’t all. He couldn’t help but feel like he had seen that boy before, but when would he ever have met someone from the Fire Nation who was his age? Katara seemed to notice how shaken he was, but he simply told her that he saw Yue, and she left him alone. Even Katara didn’t know his soulmate was Fire Nation. When he finally fell asleep that night, he dreamt of piercing golden eyes and a familiar face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Next, they came across a strange, backward town, where everyone hated the avatar. That was when everything turned upside down on Sokka. He was walking through the town with Aang and Katara, not really focusing on </span>
  <em>
    <span>whatever</span>
  </em>
  <span> the airbender was rambling about this time when he spotted a familiar face. A poster, pasted on the side of a building, featured a sketch of their old adversary Zuko. Sokka wondered what happened to Zuko. They hadn’t met since the North Pole. Not that he would admit it, but he kinda missed their fights, the one constant in their travels. Curious, Sokka pulled the poster off the wall and brought it over to Aang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, what’s this say?” Aang took it and studied it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My Fire Nation is a bit rusty, but I think it’s a wanted poster.” Aang started gesturing to different parts of the poster. “This here says ‘reward’, this bit is a number, and this here is ‘Zuko’.” Sokka took the poster back and studied it, the sharp strokes so similar to the ones on his wrist. A little too similar. Sokka, feeling dizzy, shoved the poster back towards Aang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Aang, what does this one say again?” He gestured to the characters on the poster, the ones that looked all too familiar. Aang looked at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just told you, that one says ‘Zuko”. Are you feeling okay?” But Sokka couldn’t hear him. The world was spinning. He stumbled over to the wall and sat down. Zuko… Zuko was… his soulmate? He was tempted to check his wrist to be sure, but he knew he didn’t need to. Sokka had spent far too many a sleepless night tracing those letters on his wrist. So that meant he was soul-bonded to not only a Fire Nation citizen but the freaking </span>
  <em>
    <span>prince</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Not to mention the person who had chased them across the world and tried to kill them multiple times. Well, he thought bitterly, at least he knew his soulmate wasn’t dead. He thought back to the boy in his swamp vision. He couldn’t believe that it was Zuko. He looked so sweet, so innocent, so… kind. Distantly, he realized Aang was talking to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-kka? Sokka? Are you okay? What happened? Are you having a panic attack? Okay… um... Count with me. One, two-” Sokka cut him off before he could start hyperventilating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I- I’m fine. Just felt… dizzy.” He got up and brushed himself off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the day went by in a blur. Sokka probably couldn’t have told you what had happened during the trial if you had asked him. That night, he tried to sleep, he really did, but his mind just wouldn’t stop. He needed to break this new habit. His eye-bags would be big enough to carry their supplies if he stayed up another night. Nonetheless, here he was, staring at the moon and tracing his soulmark. The spirits must be laughing at him up there, he thought. Sokka decided to make himself a promise, that no matter what, soulmate or no, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>would</span>
  </em>
  <span> never love Zuko.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please drop a comment! Criticisms welcome!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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